Disembarkation Day - It's always the worst day of the cruise for me. First, I have to say farewell to any friends I might have made on the cruise. But more, it's the return to the real world and its problems that is the biggest shock.
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Neither RQS nor I slept well the night before, and our alarms woke us up shortly before 6:00 am. This would give us enough time to get showered and dressed, then enough time to finish our final packing chores before going to breakfast one last time. Once we got ready to leave the room, we did a final scan to make sure we left nothing behind, then went to breakfast.
Breakfast on the last day of the cruise can seem a little rushed. One has to be ready at all times to disembark. Yet, one wants the time to enjoy a good breakfast and relax until one's departure group is called. On our way to the dining room, we passed by the long line of people of "Self-Assist" passengers, people who would be leaving the ship early with all of their luggage - none would be picking up any luggage at the pier. We sat down to breakfast and had a nice conversation with the people next to us before finding a place to wait until our disembarkation group was called.
There are several disembarkation groups. First are the Self-Assist passengers. Then come the passengers who have transfers and tours arranged by the cruise line. And finally, it's time for the remaining disembarkation groups to be called. The last time we were on this ship (and in the same room), we were assigned to one of the latest group numbers. This time, we were assigned one of the earliest group numbers. Instead of leaving the ship around 9:00 am, we left around 8:00 am. This made it possible for us to pick up our luggage, clear customs, and make it to the ferry stop by 8:30 am - just in time to catch the second ferry of the day from Red Hook.
Taking the ferry from Red Hook allows us to avoid traffic jams around the cruise terminal. Normally, we'd take the ferry one stop, get off at Atlantic Avenue and summon an Uber from there. Since this was the second ferry of the day on the South Brooklyn route, it skips all stops before Pier 11 (Wall Street) on its way to Corlears Hook. This caused us to transfer to the East River route at Pier 11, and get off at the South Williamsburg stop. Since this was the first stop of the day in South Williamsburg, ship staff has to unlock the gate for people to get on and off the dock. Well, they forgot to do so and had to return to the pier to open the gate.
Once on dry land, we had to summon an Uber. We found it much easier to do at this stop than at Atlantic Avenue, as we could validate the address that the driver received would be the same address we could see from where we were. (Think of building address and street signage here.) While waiting for the Uber, we did some people watching. It was interesting to see the intersection of modern culture with the old: Hasidic Jews (the Old) and Hipsters (the New) in the same Brooklyn neighborhood. Once the Uber came, we zoomed through city streets and onto the BQE beyond the traffic jam zone.
We got home by 10:00 am and then crashed. It was a long morning, and we needed to rest. And that would be the theme for the rest of the day....
